Sequential-data synchronization at real-time on an analog and a digital medium

ABSTRACT

A method and device for synchronizing data between analog and digital mediums recorded either simultaneously from a single source or recorded from different sources, which requires synchronization. User-Data recorded in analog medium is referenced with out-of-band unique digital reference-data that is generated by the interface device to mark the position of the user data. The same reference-data communicated by the device and the user-data are stored in the digital medium also and a relationship is computed and established in the form of a table between the reference-data and the positions of the recorded user-data. Whenever there is a manipulation of the User-data on either of the mediums for the purpose of viewing, listening or editing, the Reference-data in that medium is interpreted by the device and the corresponding location of the user-data in the other medium is accessed by using the table. Manipulation to the user-data done, on either medium, any number of times is reflected on the user-data in the other medium. The objective of data synchronization stands achieved.

I. DESCRIPTION

I.A.Field

This disclosure generally relates to transcription. Specifically,devices and methods that embody improved techniques that can begenerally used in applications, where a device is used to record audioinformation simultaneously with the generation of a computer file. Theaudio information is recorded as the computer file normally subjected toor further transcription. The disclosed technique is embodied in systemsand methods for use in transcription.

I.B.Background

In the field of transcription, a person dictates information onto anaudio recording apparatus. The apparatus records the audio informationonto a recording medium. This recording medium is often a magnetic tapemedium. While medical transcription is a most visible example, thetechniques disclosed herein could be used in any application where anaudio-recorded medium is used to perform further downstream activitieslike transcription.

After the audio information is recorded, the audio recorded material istransported to a location where human transcribers transcribe therecorded information. Conventionally, transcription was performedin-house, that is at a location physically close to the location wherethe actual dictation is performed. In some cases, it is imperative thatthe transcription be done locally. This is because, as in the case of adoctor dictating diagnostic information, the transcribed hard-copyreports are often required within a day or so. In such cases, the timetaken for transporting the recorded audio materials have to be minimal.

The urgency is more severe in cases where the transcription activity cancommence only after the person performing the dictation has completedthe dictation. Often it is at the end of the person's workday. Thereforethe recorded audio material can only be transported for transcription atthe end of the workday.

Increasingly, the transcription is also performed remotely. In the caseof remote transcription, the dictation (which has been recorded, forexample, as audio tapes or in the form of computer files) is transportedto a different location where transcription occurs. Using newtechnologies such as Internet, the dictation is recorded on a computerin the form of digital computer files (for example, Wave files) and thentransported to the remote location via the Internet.

However, in such a case, dictating on to a computer necessitates achange in the method of working of the person performing the dictation,thereby presenting a difficulty. It further interferes with the thoughtprocess of dictation. It also relies exclusively on the computer as theback-up medium for the dictation. Conventionally, the back-up is createdonly at the end of a dictation and is a subsequent process.

Alternately, the dictation is performed on audio cassette tapes. Thesetapes are then re-played and recorded on the computer after thedictation is complete. In such a case, the obvious handicap is time,since the recording process has to essentially wait for the entiredictation to be completed. This method also involves manualintervention. In addition there is a loss in the quality of sound as theinitial recording is done on an analog medium and then re-recorded on toa digital medium.

Conventional methodologies used widely for recording dictation involvesdictating on to a tape recorder. The dictation itself is rarely in theform of a monologue and is mostly in the nature of a thought processthat involves reviewing periodically. The review involves listening andediting over the dictation already delivered.

As noted above, the conventional technologies are beset with severalproblems at least including:

-   -   It takes a long time to create the computer files from audio        recorded medium.    -   It is not easy to make changes in the audio recorded media    -   Any changes made on the audio recorded media will require        recreating the computer audio files.    -   The thought process of the dictator is interrupted because of        the required manual interventions in the dictation process.    -   Maintaining co-ordination between the audio recorded medium and        the computer audio file is difficult.

II. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSED TECHNIQUES

To overcome the problems discussed above, an object of the disclosedtechniques is to provide a dictator the capability to record on therecording medium while meeting all other needs by providing an interfacebetween, for example a tape recorder and a computer that captures thedictation simultaneously. An added object is that there should be nochanges in the general mode of working of the dictator. All theattendant corrections should be stored as computer audio files, ready tobe transported via the web. A further object is to ensure a concurrentback up which is extremely critical as the very purpose of dictationwould be defeated in case re-dictations are required.

To meet the objects described above, there is provided a method ofcapturing dictations for use in transcriptions. The method comprisesdictating dictation information onto at least one recording medium thatstores said dictation information in the form of recording medium data;simultaneously recording onto at least one computer audio file in theform of computer audio file data; and making changes to the recordingmedium data based on required corresponding changes in the dictationinformation, wherein said changes to the recording medium data areautomatically reflected in the computer audio file data on a real timebasis.

Preferably, said recording medium is a magnetic tape.

Preferably, said dictations comprise medical transcription information.

Preferably, said dictation information is spliced into time elements anda unique identifier each is associated with each of said time elements.

Still preferably, said recording medium comprises at least two channels,a first channel being used for storing said recording medium data and asecond channel being used for storing said unique identifier.

Still preferably, said unique identifiers are generated by generating atrain of pulses; feeding the pulses to a counter; feeding results of thecounter to an encoding logic, wherein parallel data is converted to aserial data; outputting the serial data following start bits to formsaid unique identifier; amplifying and feeding the unique identifier tothe second channel; and parallely feeding the serial data to areceiver-transmitter and communicating to a communications port of thecomputer.

Still preferably, each of switching function events on a device used torecord in the recording medium generate a unique switching functionevent identifier each, said unique switching function event identifierbeing different from said unique identifiers corresponding to said timeelements of information.

Still preferably, the method further comprises receiving the informationfrom a sound port and inputting the information into the computer audiofile in the form of digitized data; receiving the identifier data fromthe communications port; and maintaining a table which store said uniqueidentifier data and corresponding locations in the computer audio filein a computer table file.

Still preferably, the computer is capable of interpreting the uniqueswitching function identifiers and perform corresponding events in thecomputer to change the computer audio file and contents of the tablestored in the computer table file appropriately.

Still preferably, said switching function events is one of record, play,rewind, fast forward, stop and save.

Still preferably, when a record function is encountered, the firstchannel receives the dictated information and the second channelreceives the unique identifier data.

Still preferably, when a stop switching function event is encountered,the computer pauses inputting information into the computer file whilethe device pauses recording.

Still preferably, when the play function is encountered the firstchannel outputs the dictation information and the second channel outputswaveforms corresponding to the unique identifier.

Still preferably, when a rewind switching function is initiated, thecomputer suspends inputting dictation information into the computeraudio file until further input is received from the communications port.

Still preferably, when an overwrite dictate is performed, the firstchannel receives overwrite dictation information and the second channelreceives new unique identifiers.

Still preferably, the computer captures the new identifiers and replacesthe corresponding contents of the table stored in the computer tablefile along with file locations corresponding to the overwrittendictation information.

Still preferably, the computer captures the unique identifiers and thedictation information from appropriate ports and appends the tablestored in the computer table file and the computer audio filerespectively.

Still preferably, the computer receives unique identifiers correspondingto the dictation information on the first channel and moves pointers inthe computer table file to appropriate location to match the informationoutput from the first channel.

Still preferably, after a dictation session is completed, a specialfunction key is initiated corresponding to a save function and thecomputer interprets this save function to perform a save operation onthe recorded computer audio file to a desired digital voice file format.

Still preferably, the unique identifier data recorded on the recordingmedium is converted to a digital pulse by a process comprising:detecting a transition from a 1 to 0 or a 0 to 1; creating a digitalwaveform based on results of said detecting; processing the digital waveform to remove start bits; feeding to a shift register driven by a sameclock frequency used to generate data bits; and loading to thereceiver-transmitter.

Another aspect of the disclosed technique is a system for performingdictations comprising at least one recording device that recordsdictation information on to a recording medium; at least one computerthat creates a computer audio file that comprises said dictationinformation, wherein when changes are made to the information recordedin the recording medium, these changes are automatically reflected inthe computer audio file on a real time basis.

Preferably, said recording medium is a magnetic tape.

Still preferably, said dictations comprise transcription information.

Still preferably, said dictation information is spliced into timeelements and a unique identifier each is associated with each of saidtime elements.

Still preferably, said recording medium comprises at least two channels,a first channel being used for storing said recording medium data and asecond channel being used for storing said unique identifier.

Still preferably, said system further comprises: a pulse generator forgenerating pulses; a counter that receives the pulses; an encoding logicthat receives the results of the counter, said encoder logic convertingparallel data to serial data to form unique identifier data; anamplifier to amplify and feed the serial data to the second channel; anda receiver-transmitter that parallely receives the serial data andcommunicates to a communications port of the computer.

Still preferably, each of switching function events on a device used torecord in the recording medium generate a unique switching functionevent identifier each, said unique switching function event identifierbeing different from said unique identifiers corresponding to said timeelements of information.

Still preferably, the computer further comprises: a dictationinformation receiver located in the computer for receiving the dictationinformation from a sound port and inputting the dictation informationinto the computer audio file in the form of digitized data; a identifierreceiver that receives the unique identifier data from thecommunications port; and a table which comprises said unique identifiersand corresponding locations, said table being stored in a computer tablefile.

Still preferably, the computer is capable of interpreting the uniqueswitching function identifiers and perform corresponding events in thecomputer to change the computer audio file and contents of the tablestored in the computer table file appropriately.

Still preferably, said switching function events is one of record, play,rewind, fast forward, stop and save.

Still preferably, when a record function is encountered, the firstchannel is capable of receiving the dictated information and the secondchannel is capable of receiving the unique identifier data.

Still preferably, when a stop switching function event is encountered,the computer is capable of stopping inputting information into thecomputer audio file while the device pauses recording.

Still preferably, when the play function is encountered the firstchannel is capable of outputting the dictation information and thesecond channel is capable of outputting waveforms corresponding to theunique identifier.

Still preferably, when a rewind switching function is initiated, thecomputer is capable of suspending inputting dictation information intothe computer audio file until further input is received from thecommunications port.

Still preferably, when an overwrite dictate is performed, the firstchannel is capable of receiving overwrite dictation information and thesecond channel is capable of receiving new unique identifiers.

Still preferably, the computer is capable of capturing the newidentifiers and replacing the corresponding contents of the table storedin the computer table file along with file locations corresponding tothe overwritten dictation information.

Still preferably, the computer is capable of capturing the uniqueidentifiers and the dictation information from appropriate ports andcapable of appending the table stored in the computer table file and thecomputer audio file respectively.

Still preferably, the computer is capable of receiving uniqueidentifiers corresponding to the dictation information on the firstchannel and further capable of moving pointers in the computer tablefile to appropriate location to match the information output from thefirst channel.

Still preferably, after a dictation session is completed, a specialfunction key is initiated corresponding to a save function and thecomputer is capable of interpreting this save function to perform a saveoperation on the recorded computer audio file to a desired digital voicefile format.

Still preferably, the system further comprises: a transition detectorthat detects a transition from a 1 to 0 or a 0 to 1; a waveformgenerator that creates a digital waveform based on results generated bythe detector; a shift register driven by a same clock frequency used togenerate data bits that receives the digital waveform, and areceiver-transmitter that outputs data.

III. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objectives and advantages of the present invention will becomemore apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof withreference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a basic working model of a dictator dictating onto a tapemachine.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustration of the encoding logic.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustration of the decoding logic.

FIG. 4 shows a typical Audio tape medium.

IV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A preferred embodiment that embodies the methods and structure of thedisclosed technique is presented herein. It should be noted that thedevice disclosed embodies both the structure and the methods disclosedherein. Due to the use of the disclosed techniques, at least thefollowing advantages are observed:

The device accurately replicates the data on the recording magneticmedium onto a computer on a real time basis as and when thedictation/corrections are made.

The dictation is captured digitally at source giving better qualitysound, which would improve the productivity of the transcriptionist.

The device enables dictation to be available as soon as each and everydictation is completed which has the effect of speeding up theturnaround time.

The device provides header information that would be relevant inidentifying the source from which the dictation emanated and relevantparticulars regarding the dictation such as the date, time and length ofdictation.

The device stores the dictation in the form of audio files that can betransported via the web to any location to any destination.

It provides the dictator the flexibility of using a plurality ofrecording mediums for even a single dictation.

FIG. 1 shows a basic working model of a dictator 1.6 dictating onto atranscription machine 1.1 where the simultaneous capture of his voiceand the device used for synchronization are also shown. Here thedictator 1.6 dictates on to a microphone 1.7 which is connected to boththe Tape recorder unit 1.2 and the Audio port of the computer 1.3. AHand control unit 1.4, with its functions are shown. The functions ofthe hand control unit comprises generating identifiers and also feedingit to the computer and the tape. The Hand control unit is connected tothe Tape recorder via the Interface unit 1.5 to tap the functions of thehand control unit to generate respective events to the computer.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustration of the encoding logic. In FIG. 2, theMaster clock 2.1 and the Baud clock 2.4 provide the source frequency forthe pulse generator and the baud generator respectively. The Pulsegenerator 2.3 can be programmed to output pulses of width 50 to 800 ms.This pulse generator also generates 64 times of the output pulse thatare fed to the counters 2.6, shift registers and the encoding logic 2.8to drive the data bits. The parallel output from the 8-bit cascadedcounters 2.6 are also fed to the UART 2.7, which are converted intoRS232 standards and fed to the RS232 level controller 2.10 as serialstream of two data bytes as Most significant and least significantbytes. In the Encoding logic 2.8 a start bit of two data bit length isgenerated and the parallel 16-bit data is converted into serial streamusing shift registers and added to the Start bit. This is then outputtedto the Head Isolation circuit 2.9 from where the data is written to thewriting head of the Track-b.

Herein, the creation of identifier data is described. A programmablepulse width generator 2.3 is used to generate a train of pulses withvarying pulse width from 50 ms to 800 ms and the width being selectedusing a 4-bit selector logic in increments of 50 ms. It is understoodthat though the pulse width used in the preferred embodiment is between50 and 800 ms, any other pulse width could also be chosen according tothe needs of a particular application. In this application, a 100 mspulse width is selected. This train of pulses is fed to a cascaded 8-bitcounter 2.6 where it counts the number of pulses generated and outputs a16-bit parallel output, which is a result of the count. This parallel16-bit count is then fed to an encoding logic 2.8 where a cascaded pairof 8-bit parallel-in serial-out shift registers convert the paralleldata into serial pulse train.

This serial pulse train is outputted following a 2-bit length start-bit.This start bit is different from the one generated by the UART 2.7 forcommunication. However this start bit acts as an identification for thedecoding circuit to denote that the signals that follow for the next 16cycles corresponds to identifier data. The data that comes only afterthe start-bit is considered valid. This serial pulse train of 16 bitlength along with the start bit is outputted after every pulse from thepulse generator. This signal is then amplified and fed to the writinghead of the tape recorder through an isolation circuit 2.9. The signalis then transferred to the tape. Parallely the output from the counter2.6 is fed to the UART 2.7, where the signal is converted with referenceto communication port standards and fed to the signal level controlleras a combination of two bytes namely the Most significant and the Leastsignificant bytes to represent the 16-bit identifier data. In the RS232level controller 2.10, the TTL signal is transformed to 12 v levels,which is ready to be transported over the wire to a communication port.

These serial pulse trains are representations of sequentially increasingdecimal numbers from 1 to 65535, which represent identifiers. While thepreferred embodiment uses a 16 bit identifier, the disclosed techniqueis not limited thereby. It should be clear that counters can be coupledtogether to make 32-bit representations or more. The actual resolution,represented by the size range of the identifiers, depends on theapplication. In addition, the nature of identifiers could be differentbased on the need of the application. Examples of different types ofidentifiers include patterns, bit streams etc. The identifiers aredesigned to be unique as they are required to identify every moment ofthe occurrence of the Audio data, corresponding to the dictationinformation, along the entire longitudinal length of the tape medium.

In a typical application the microphone is connected to the Audio-inputsof both the tape recorder and the sound card in the computer. The abovementioned track A and track B can be the two tracks in a stereo taperecorder. These tracks are typically used to record the left and rightchannels of the Audio information via a fixed Recording head. In a vocaldictation as used in medical transcription, the nature of the sourceitself is mono and stereo recording on both the channels is ofnegligible importance as they only contain identical information.Clearly, recording in any one channel itself ensures faithfulreproduction of the dictation. This apparent redundancy is takenadvantage of in the embodiment described herein.

The input from the microphone is fed to one of the tracks track A, viathe fixed writing head corresponding to that track. In otherapplications where the analog writing medium includes more than onetracks or channels of recording, one track or channel would benecessarily created/allocated to store the Identifiers.

The output from the encoding logic after the isolation circuit 2.9 isconnected to the writing head of Track B. The series of pulses that arerepresentations of identifiers are written on to Track B. Theseidentifiers are out of band identifiers of the Audio Data that is beingrecorded on Track A. The switching functions of the tape recorder suchas Record, Rewind, Play, Forward and Pause are interpreted by thedevice. Any switching function on the tape recorder side generates aunique switching function event to be processed by the computer. This ismade possible by making the switching function event identifiers unique.In the preferred embodiment, 65045 is used as a switching function eventidentifier for Record, 65077 for Rewind, 65061 for Play, 65109 forForward, 65029 for Pause/stop and 65093 for Save. It is worth notingthat the generation of the identifiers are looped at 65000 and goes backto 1 from then on. So a collision of identifier and switching functionevent identifier is theoretically impossible. Also in this environment,the max length of the commercially available tape is 45 minutes per sideand generation of identifier even at highest resolution as 50 ms willneed at most 27000 identifiers for them to be unique. However, a usercan select the optimal range of identifiers to avoid collision and tosatisfy a required resolution.

FIG. 4 shows a typical Audio tape medium. As mentioned before, intrack-A recording medium data corresponding to the transcriptioninformation is written and in Track-B the identifier data is written. Intrack-A audio data is written and in Track-B the identifiers arewritten. In table-I two fields as “Identifiers” and “File locations” areshown. For example when voice is captured and identifier 37 is writtenon to the tape, the identifier and the wave file position are alsowritten on the table and the relation is shown. This relation is themoment of occurrence. In table-II the sequential filling and theorganization of the wave file in the Hard disk is shown. It isunderstood that the current filling locator or the pointer can be movedanywhere within this file by specifying the location in terms of thesamples.

A software application resides on the computer to record the Audioinformation from the sound port in a digitized Wave file format. Thisapplication is also capable of reading the two-byte information from thecommunication port and computes them into decimal identifiers. Further,this application maintains a table in a computer table file. This tablecomprises two fields named as “Identifiers” and “File locations”. Thisapplication is capable of isolating the identifiers that are not part ofreference data but representation of switching functions and isprogrammed to activate the corresponding switching functions on the wavefile.

In table-I, as shown in FIG. 4, two fields as “Identifiers” and “Filelocations” are shown. For example when dictation information is capturedand identifier 37 is written on to the tape, the identifier and the wavefile position are also written on the table stored in the computer tablefile and the relation is shown. This relation is the moment ofoccurrence. In table-II, the sequential filling and the organization ofthe wave file in the Hard disk is shown. It is understood that thecurrent filling locator or the pointer can be moved anywhere within thiscomputer audio file by specifying the location in terms of the samples.

When the dictation is begun by pressing the Record button, the event isprocessed by the interface unit and the generation of identifiers begin.It is understood that the dictation also begins simultaneously. When theAudio information is written on to track-A, the serial pulse trainrepresenting the unique identifiers also gets written alongside ontrack-B. This marks the moment of occurrence of the Audio dictationinformation on track-A with the representation the correspondingidentifier as a decimal number in track-B.

At the very moment the Record button is pressed the Interface unitgenerates a Record event or Identifier 65045. This is read by theresident software application as the commencement of the event “Record”and the software begins recording in the Audio wave file. After thismoment as and when there is a identifier (other than those related toswitching functions) in the port, the software converts the identifierinto decimal number and updates the Identifier field of the table storedin the computer table file. At the same moment of arrival of theIdentifier, the software also identifies the number of samplesaccumulated in the computer audio file, which in other words denotes thecurrent position of the Recorded Audio file and appends it to the table,enabling it to create a database of positions corresponding to theidentifiers.

When the Pause button is pressed, a Pause identifier or a 65029 isgenerated and both the tape recorder and the Software application pausetheir corresponding recording.

When Rewind button is pressed the tape begins rewinding, and a RewindIdentifier or 65077 generated by the device suspends the operations onthe computer and the application waits for further input from thecommunication port.

Here it is worth noting that whenever a dictator rewinds or forwards thetape back or forth to a particular location for the purpose of reviewingand editing, it is but natural that he listens to the data in the tapeto review and correct in the appropriate desired location. Hence theplacement of the control function switch is positioned in such a waythat whenever the Rewind or Forward is released it comes back to thePlay mode automatically before the user intervenes to stop or take anyfurther action.

When the Rewind switch is released the Tape recorder goes to the Playmode automatically. When the tape recorder is playing the Audioinformation recorded earlier, the Track-B information is also read bythe head and passed to the preamplifier. This signal is then passedthrough the power amplifier to get a 5 v level waveform which is arepresentation of the recorded Identifier or a serial pulse.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustration of the decoding logic. It is assumed thatthere are two tracks in the recording medium. Of which, track-Acorresponds to first channel in which recording medium data is stored.Track-B corresponds to the second channel in which the identifier datais written. In FIG. 3, the read head 3.1 corresponds to the track-Bwhere the identifier data is written. When the tape is played the signalchanges are sensed by this head and passed to the preamplifier 3.2, thissignal is then passed on to the power amplifier 3.4 to get the requiredamplification of 5 v. The output analog wave form is a representation ofthe data written on to it. A peak detecting circuit 3.3 is used todetect the positive and negative peaks of that waveform. A threshold isset in a way that the peaks represent the raising edge and the fallingedge of a digital “1”. The data driving clock 3.9 which is 64 times ofthe pulse is used to drive the resultant waveform of this peak detectingcircuit to construct an exact digital data of 16 bits. The timing ofthis is set in such a way to eliminate the first two bit which is astart-bit. This is then fed to a serial in parallel out cascaded shiftregister 3.8 to output two bytes of data that are the representations ofthe identifier written onto track-B of the tape. The UART 2.7 and theLevel Controller 2.10 then communicates this data to the computer in aformat corresponding to the Communication port.

The Analog waveform retrieved from the power amplifier 3.4 will havepositively peaking transitions to represent the rising edge of thedigital “1” and negatively peaking analog transitions to represent thefalling edge of the digital “1” or start of a digital “0”. Wheneverthere are no transitions in the digital data bit or whenever there is aseries of multiple “1”s or “0”s, the analog waveform after showing thepeak for the start of the transition, returns to zero and remains thereunaltered until it sees any further transition on the digital waveform.So a peak detecting circuit in the interface device, which detects thestart of any transition, either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0 is used and adigital waveform is reconstructed from the analog waveform retrievedfrom the tape medium.

This digital waveform is then processed to identify and remove the startbit and is fed to a shift register. After there is a first 8-bit shiftdriven by the same clock frequency used to generate the data bits, astrobe signal is given to load the 8 parallel bits to the input of theUART 2.7 via a data buffer. The UART gives this digital data bit to thecommunication port of the computer via a RS232 signal level controller.This 8-bit data represent the Most significant byte of the two bytedata. A similar operation is performed to load the second 8-bit thatrepresents the least significant of the 16-bit data.

The software application residing in the computer receives two bytes ofthis digital data and computes the decimal representation of thosebytes. This decimal representation is the identifier which is recordedon to the tape along with the Audio information on another track. Sothis is basically the identifier of the moment of occurrence of thatAudio data. As mentioned earlier this identifier was written onto atable stored in the computer table file along with the current playposition of the Wave file. So the current play position is retrievedfrom the table with reference to the retrieved identifier. Now thecurrent file position of the computer audio file is positioned accordingto the new value obtained from the table. The Audio dictationinformation in this position will be exactly in-sync with the audiobeing played by the tape recorder. As and when data identifier comes into the communication port, the software application dynamicallyrelocates its current play position accordingly and continues to bein-sync with the tape recorder.

When the user pauses or stops the tape recorder both the tape medium andthe Wave file stops in an identical position with respect to the Audioinformation. Now, when a overwriting Dictate operation is performed, theAudio information on the track-A gets overwritten with new information.At the same time in the track-B the identifier gets overwritten with newidentifiers. These new identifiers are communicated to the communicationport and the software application captures these identifiers and thecorresponding computer audio file locations (that are overwrittenlocations) and appends them onto the table.

When forward function is pressed the tape recorder moves forward and theWave file remains in a paused state. Whenever the forward function isreleased, and when the tape is played, playing continues and thedecoding of the identifiers continues and a synchronization is achievedbetween the Audio played from the tape and the Wave file in the computeras mentioned earlier in the Rewind and Play operations.

After a particular session of a dictation is over, a special functionkey is pressed. This function forwards the tape a little. This is toleave a small blank space between dictations for any identificationlater. At the same time this key is interpreted as a Save function and afunction identifier 65091 is generated. This is read by the softwareapplication and a save command to the currently recorded file is issued.So a Wave file is saved in the computer which is an exact replication ofthe data recorded in the tape medium with any and all corrections madeto the Audio data.

To track any possible error condition, or to track the history of allthe operations performed related to the capture of the Audio file, a logfile is maintained. This log file records all the Data and Functionidentifiers that were read by the communication port. By sequentiallygoing through these identifiers any body could visualize the operationsperformed over a session.

While the current embodiment pertains to a single source and two mediumssay analog and digital, the methodology adopted to ensuresynchronization or correlation can be extended to a plurality ofsources. In fact the source medium could be one or many and thedestination mediums wherein the data needs to be correlated could alsobe one or many. The interval times selected as elaborated earlier couldalso vary based on the resolution required for the respectiveapplication. The interval times could be of any scale and theidentifiers placed thereof could be of those moments. The identifierscan be patterns, bit streams or anything as long as they are unique andrelevant to the characteristics of the recording medium.

Other modifications and variations to the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure and teachings.Thus, while only certain embodiments of the invention have beenspecifically described herein, it will be apparent that numerousmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

1. A method of capturing dictations for use in transcriptions, saidmethod comprising: a) dictating dictation information onto at least oneanalog recording medium that stores said dictation information in theform of recording medium data; b) simultaneously recording onto at leastone computer audio file in the form of computer audio file data; and c)making changes to the recording medium data based on requiredcorresponding changes in the dictation information wherein said changesto the recording medium data are automatically reflected in the computeraudio file data on a real time basis.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid recording medium is a magnetic tape.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein said dictations comprise transcription information.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said dictation information is spliced intotime elements and a unique identifier each is associated with each ofsaid time elements.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said recordingmedium comprises at least two channels, a first channel being used forstoring said recording medium data and a second channel being used forstoring said unique identifier.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein saidunique identifiers are generated by: i) generating a train of pulses;ii) feeding the pulses to a counter; iii) feeding results of the counterto an encoding logic, wherein parallel data is converted to a serialdata; iv) outputting the serial data following start bits to form saidunique identifier; v) amplifying and feeding the unique identifier tothe second channel; and vi) parallely feeding the serial data to areceiver-transmitter and communicating to a communications port of thecomputer.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein each of switching functionevents on a device used to record in the recording medium generate aunique switching function event identifier each, said unique switchingfunction event identifier being different from said unique identifierscorresponding to said time elements of information.
 8. The method ofclaim 6 further comprising: vii) receiving the information from a soundport and inputting the information into the computer audio file in theform of digitized data; viii) receiving the identifier data from thecommunications port; and ix) maintaining a table which store said uniqueidentifier data and corresponding locations in the computer audio filein a computer table file.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the computeris capable of interpreting the unique switching function identifiers andperform corresponding events in the computer to change the computeraudio file and contents of the table stored in the computer table fileappropriately.
 10. The method of claim 7 wherein said switching functionevents is one of record, play, rewind, fast forward, stop and save. 11.The method of claim 10 wherein when a record function is encountered,the first channel receives the dictated information and the secondchannel receives the unique identifier data.
 12. The method of claim 10wherein when a stop switching function event is encountered, thecomputer pauses inputting information into the computer file while thedevice pauses recording.
 13. The method of claim 10 wherein when theplay function is encountered the first channel outputs the dictationinformation and the second channel outputs waveforms corresponding tothe unique identifier.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein when a rewindswitching function is initiated, the computer suspends inputtingdictation information into the computer audio file until further inputis received from the communications port.
 15. The method of claim 10,when an overwrite dictate is performed, the first channel receivesoverwrite dictation information and the second channel receives newunique identifiers.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the computercaptures the new identifiers and replaces the corresponding contents ofthe table stored in the computer table file along with file locationscorresponding to the overwritten dictation information.
 17. The methodof claim 11 wherein the computer captures the unique identifiers and thedictation information from appropriate ports and appends the tablestored in the computer table file and the computer audio filerespectively.
 18. The method of claim 13 wherein the computer receivesunique identifiers corresponding to the dictation information on thefirst channel and moves pointers in the computer table file toappropriate location to match the information output from the firstchannel.
 19. The method of claim 10, wherein after a dictation sessionis completed, a special function key is initiated corresponding to asave function and the computer interprets this save function to performa save operation on the recorded computer audio file to a desireddigital voice file format.
 20. The method of claim 6, wherein the uniqueidentifier data recorded on the recording medium is converted to adigital pulse by a process comprising: detecting a transition from a 1to 0 or a 0 to 1; creating a digital waveform based on results of saiddetecting; processing the digital wave form to remove start bits;feeding to a shift register driven by a same clock frequency used togenerate data bits; and loading to the receiver-transmitter.
 21. Asystem for performing dictations comprising: at least one recordingdevice that records dictation information on to an analog recordingmedium; at least one computer that creates a computer audio file thatcomprises said dictation information, wherein when changes are made tothe information recorded in the recording medium, these changes areautomatically reflected in the computer audio file on a real time basis.22. The system of claim 21, wherein said recording medium is a magnetictape.
 23. The system of claim 21, wherein said dictations comprisetranscription information.
 24. The system of claim 21, wherein saiddictation information is spliced into time elements and a uniqueidentifier each is associated with each of said time elements.
 25. Thesystem of claim 24, wherein said recording medium comprises at least twochannels, a first channel being used for storing said recording mediumdata and a second channel being used for storing said unique identifier.26. The system of claim 25, wherein said system further comprises: apulse generator for generating pulses; a counter that receives thepulses; an encoding logic that receives the results of the counter, saidencoder logic converting parallel data to serial data to form uniqueidentifier data; an amplifier to amplify and feed the serial data to thesecond channel; and a receiver-transmitter that parallely receives theserial data and communicates to a communications port of the computer.27. The system of claim 24, wherein each of switching function events ona device used to record in the recording medium generate a uniqueswitching function event identifier each, said unique switching functionevent identifier being different from said unique identifierscorresponding to said time elements of information.
 28. The system ofclaim 26 wherein the computer further comprises: a dictation informationreceiver located in the computer for receiving the dictation informationfrom a sound port and inputting the dictation information into thecomputer audio file in the form of digitized data; a identifier receiverthat receives the unique identifier data from the communications port;and a table which comprises said unique identifiers and correspondinglocations, said table being stored in a computer table file.
 29. Thesystem of claim 27 wherein the computer is capable of interpreting theunique switching function identifiers and perform corresponding eventsin the computer to change the computer audio file and contents of thetable stored in the computer table file appropriately.
 30. The system ofclaim 27 wherein said switching function events is one of record, play,rewind, fast forward, stop and save.
 31. The system of claim 30 whereinwhen a record function is encountered, the first channel is capable ofreceiving the dictated information and the second channel is capable ofreceiving the unique identifier data.
 32. The system of claim 30 whereinwhen a stop switching function event is encountered, the computer iscapable of stopping inputting information into the computer audio filewhile the device pauses recording.
 33. The system of claim 30 whereinwhen the play function is encountered the first channel is capable ofoutputting the dictation information and the second channel is capableof outputting waveforms corresponding to the unique identifier.
 34. Thesystem of claim 30, wherein when a rewind switching function isinitiated, the computer is capable of suspending inputting dictationinformation into the computer audio file until further input is receivedfrom the communications port.
 35. The system of claim 30, when anoverwrite dictate is performed, the first channel is capable ofreceiving overwrite dictation information and the second channel iscapable of receiving new unique identifiers.
 36. The system of claim 35,wherein the computer is capable of capturing the new identifiers andreplacing the corresponding contents of the table stored in the computertable file along with file locations corresponding to the overwrittendictation information.
 37. The system of claim 31 wherein the computeris capable of capturing the unique identifiers and the dictationinformation from appropriate ports and capable of appending the tablestored in the computer table file and the computer audio filerespectively.
 38. The system of claim 33 wherein the computer is capableof receiving unique identifiers corresponding to the dictationinformation on the first channel and further capable of moving pointersin the computer table file to appropriate location to match theinformation output from the first channel.
 39. The system of claim 30,wherein after a dictation session is completed, a special function keyis initiated corresponding to a save function and the computer iscapable of interpreting this save function to perform a save operationon the recorded computer audio file to a desired digital voice fileformat.
 40. The system of claim 26, wherein the system furthercomprises: a transition detector that detects a transition from a 1 to 0or a 0 to 1; a waveform generator that creates a digital waveform basedon results generated by the detector; and a shift register driven by asame clock frequency used to generate data bits that receives thedigital waveform, a receiver-transmitter that outputs data.